In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with global finance and security analyst Giri Rajendran about the Trump Administration’s newly published National Security Strategy — what it signals, what it omits, and what it suggests about America’s role in a multipolar world.

Thomas and Giri discuss:

How this report differs from previous US National Security Strategies

The end of the old rules-based order of liberal internationalism

The Middle East: a phase shift toward deeper economic engagement

China: economic and industrial competition, not ideological crusade

Europe: NATO burden-sharing, culture-war politics, and coercion by inducement

Russia as a potential ally, no longer an enemy

Whether global governance can exist without global institutions

Follow Giri on X here: https://x.com/Trajan1898

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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.

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